USDA Awards Conservation Grants

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture | Sep 10, 2013

Thirty-three Conservation Innovation Grants have been awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to entities across the nation to develop and demonstrate cutting-edge ideas to accelerate private lands conservation.

“Conservation Innovation Grants activate creativity and problem-solving to benefit conservation-minded farmers and ranchers,” says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These grants are critical for developing and demonstrating new ideas for conservation on America’s private lands and strengthening rural communities. Everyone relies on our nation's natural resources for food, fiber and clean water and will benefit from these grants.”

“The Conservation Innovation Grant program brings together the strength and innovation of the private and non-profit sectors, academia, producers and others to develop and test cutting-edge conservation tools and technologies and work side-by-side with producers to demonstrate how solutions work on the land,” NRCS Chief Jason Weller says.

As climate changes, extreme weather events are becoming more common. These partnership grants drive cutting-edge conservation techniques that can make our nation's landscape more resilient to these changes, he says.

The awards total $13.3 million. Six of the approved grants support conservation technologies and approaches to help farmers and ranchers who historically have not had equal access to agricultural programs because of race or ethnicity, or who have limited resources, or who are beginning farmers and ranchers.